Rail joint



Ma 24, 1932. J. LEMIRE 1,860,105

RAIL JOINT Filed June 25, 1931 Jbsgo/z 12mm? In 0012 for:

fi o/775g Patented May 24, 1932 UNITED STATES JOSEPH LEMIRE, or s'r. JOSEPH DE GRANTHA QUEBEOQ CANADA RAIL zronv'r Application filed June 25, 1931, Serial No. 546,790, and a canes as 15, 1930."

The present invention pertains to a novel rail joint or device for securing together the abutting ends of the rails comprising a railroad track.

The principal object of the. invention is to provide a simple and effective device of this character requiring a simple adaptation of the ends of the rails to be joined and further securing the joined ends to the railway ties.

In keeping with this object, one of the rail ends has a tongue receivable in a slot formed in the adjacent rail end. The joined ends are in turn snugly fitted in a base plate which is attached to the tie merely by one spike in each end thereof.

The nature of the joint is such as to per- 'mit expansion and contraction of the'metal without the formation of such a gap as would cause the car wheels to jump. Further, the base plate is so constructed as to hold the joints together in the event that the plate is torn loose from the tie.

The invention is fully disclosed by way of example in the following description and in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the devlce;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the base plate; 7

Figure 3 is a vertical section of a rail at the joint; and

Figures 4 and 5 are perspective views of the complementary parts of the joint.

Reference to these views will now be made by use of like characters which are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout.

In Fig. 1 are illustrated the ends of rails 1 and 2 which are to be interconnected to hold the rails in mutual alinement in a continuous manner. The joint between the rails embodies a groove in the end of the member 1, said groove having a. flared mouth 3 and a restricted slot 4; lying axially of the rail. At the end of the rail 2 is a tonguehaving a tapered portion 5 adapted to fit into the mouth 3 and terminating in a narrower section 6 which fits in the slot 4 as shown in Fig. 1. i

It will be seen in Figs. 1, 4c and 5 that the apertures 11,

joint, consisting essentially of'the member 6 received in the slot' l, is offset from one sideof the longitudinal axis of the rail and," namely, towards theouter edge'of the rail. Inasmuch as the greater partof the load'is carried at the inner side of the longitudinal axis of each rail, the greater widthof undisturbed metal retained atthis side by the olfset'of the joint, provides a moredesirable' support for its greater load.

The joined ends of the rails are received in" and upon a base plate 7 having a pair of PATENT- OFFICE,

Wings 8 extending angularly upward into a converging manner to form recesses 9 atthe ends of the plate. These recessesa'reso formedas to receive the base flange 10 of'the rail while the latter rests upon the plate 7-,

as'clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. In the ends of the plate are 7 passing also through the wings 8 and therefore lying at opposite sides of the rail. Consequently, two spikes driven through the apertures hold the base plate to the railroad tie, and the base plate in turn prevents lateral slipping of the rails. at the joint. Longitudinal slipping is prevented by the close fitting of the rail sections in alined relation. v

Although there may be slight longitudinal displacement between the rails in the joint, owing to expansion and contraction of the formed two metal, the tongue and groove nature of the j joint avoids the formation of a gap extending entirely across the joint, and for this reason the wheels always ride on metal and are not caused to jump by the formation of a gap. Another advantage of the invention lies in the fact that the joint is by the base plate even though the spikes may. be loosened, for .the'base flange fits into the base plate with sufficient tightness to resist slipping of the base plate relatively to the maintained joint. This fact is very important in vconnection with floods during which the sleepers or ties are liable to be pulled away from the rails.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be understood that various alterations in the details of construction may be made withp i out departing from the scope of the invention 7 as indlcated by the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. In a rail joint, a pair of abutting rail ends having a tread Width equal to the normal tread width of the rails, one of Said ends having a slot, and a tongue at the other end receivable in said slot, said tongue and slot being offset from the longitudinal axis of the rails and formed Within said tread Widtln and a base plate on Which said ends rest.

2. In a rail joint, a pair of abutting rail ends having a tread Width equal to the normal tread Width of the rails, one of said ends having a slot, and a tongue at the other end receivable in said slot, said tongue and slot being offset from the longitudinal axis of the rails and formed Within said tread Width, and a base plate on Which said ends rest, said plate being formed with a cavity receiving the base flanges of said rail ends.

3. In a rail joint, a pair of abutting rail ends having a tread Width equal to the normal tread Width of the rails, one of said ends having a slot, and a tongue at the other end receivable in said slot, said tongue and slot being offset from the longitudinal axis of the rails and formed Within said tread Width, and a base plate on which said ends rest,said

plate being formed With a cavity receiving the base flanges of said rail ends, said base plate having apertures at opposite sides of the joint formed by the tongue and slot, said apertures being adapted to receive anchoring spikes.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand. c

I JOSEPH LEMIRE. 

